Fiestas + Fiascos

'The arches and dips of Lifter Puller's guitar precision are pure math rock. But in general, the Minneapolis quartet's sophomore album, Fiestas + Fiascos, defies categorization. The strut of the band's new wave synthesizers is simply far too sexy for algebra class. Guitarist/ vocalist Craig Finn is the focal point of the group, his voice hovering between speaking and singing, his inspired lyrics telling tales from a dark edge of town that's even grimmer than the one Springsteen sang about in his heyday. But Finn never passes judgement on his characters who are simply fallible humans, neither good nor bad. Your pleasantly disturbing ride becomes damn exciting when his wry humor crashes into the cool, bent, pulsing music.' --CMJ